Brian Hammond shows some of his glowing lures that he uses to catch perch.
David Lassman/The Post-Standard

Brian Hammond is one of those guys who rarely gets skunked when ice fishing.

“Because I catch fish very well, other anglers think I must have something up my sleeve,” he said, smiling. A key to his success is something most ice anglers rarely think about.

“I use lures that glow,” he said.

Hammond said glowing lures are particularly effective during early morning or evening, or when there’s thick ice with snow on top. They’re painted with fluorescent paint and he gets them glowing by quickly bathing them in light from a camera flash.

“When I used my underwater camera, I noticed that there’s extremely low visibility during those times and the fish can’t see very far. I found out when I enhanced the color of the lure and its visibility by having it glow, the fish immediately became attracted to it,” he said.

Hammond, 50, of Cicero, lives on the shore of Oneida Lake near Williams Beach. During the warm months, he fishes competitively in walleye tournaments. Come winter, he takes a break and focuses on catching perch though the ice.

Through his teens and early adulthood, Hammond said he ice fished on Oneida Lake with tip-ups and live bait. Today, it’s a different game with his Lowrance fish finder and his glowing lures. He likes to move around a lot more on the ice, he said, drilling numerous holes and checking them out with his fish finder before settling in.

Hammond often attaches a fluorescent plastic bait to his lures to increase their attractiveness.David Lassman/The Post-Standard

“I use lures that have a high glow, plus ones that have scent ... the result is high productivity,” he said.

Hammond said he’s been ice fishing with glowing lures for about 10 years. There’s a number of high quality ones on the market, he said, but he often prefers to use ones that are hand-painted by a friend. He said the lures in the stores cost about $2 each. He noted they have varying shelf lives as far as their glowing ability, and that some are not painted with fluorescent paint on all sides.

“The reason it’s important to have the fluorescent paint all around the lure is because if you only paint one side, you limit yourself as far as flexibility. You want the fish to see it from all directions,” he said.

Hammond tests his lures in the darkness of the bathroom at his house before going out on the ice, he said.

“I shut the door, turn off the lights and see how well (and long) they glow,” he said.

While on the ice, he flashes his lures in his ice shanty. He said most keep their glow for about 10 minutes. When the glow is gone, he reels them in and gives them another flash.

“I recommend using a camera flash, or a bright flashlight,” he said, adding it’s a good idea to have your light attached to a lanyard around your neck “so it’s readily accessible and you don’t go dropping your light in your hole in the ice.”

Hammond said the lures he uses represent “different aspects of the bait column,” including small maggots, flies, worms and small perch fry. He said he’s found the most effective lures are the ones that glow with a green or blue hue, and have small orange dots.

To supplement his lures, he often attaches small plastic baits that also glow. He said he prefers Makiplastic baits — specifically those impregnated with flecks of fluorescent paint and scented with anise.

If the perch continue to be lethargic, Hammond said, he may add live bait to his lure such as a maggot, a mousie or a fathead minnow.

The important thing, he stressed, is to be flexible and willing to change things when the bite is slow.

“Because a lure worked yesterday, doesn’t mean it’ll work today,” he said. “If they’re not biting, vary the size, the color, the body shape of the lure until you find something that works. You may get into the same school of fish and they have a tendency to remember if they see the same thing time and time again. They get used to it. If it’s not different, they’re not going to challenge or eat it.”

Hammond said his biggest Oneida Lake perch to date is a 14-incher.

“But I believe there are plenty more like that — and even bigger ones out there right now,” he said, noting the lake’s perch population is up because of the abundance of food and that less were caught last winter because of the lack of ice from the unusually warm winter.